A Bad Week for BYU Sports

Both major sports at Brigham Young University, football and men's basketball, had banner years this past season. BYU football went 11-2, going 8-0 in Mountain West Conference play for the second year in a row and capping the season with a bowl game win over UCLA. Bronco Mendenhall's team finished #14. BYU men's basketball went 27-8 (including an early win over #6 Louisville on the road), won the MWC regular season for the second season in a row going 13-3, finished 2nd in the conference tournament to UNLV in Las Vegas, made the field of 64 for the second year in a row, and lost a close game in the first round of the March Madness National Championship Tournament to Texas A&M. Dave Rose's squad was in and out of the Top 25 all year long and finished just outside of the final rankings.

Both squads were favored to win conference championships again this coming season to make it back-to-back-to-back, but both also suffered major losses to their team this week that could make winning a bit more difficult.

The football team lost 2nd-string running back and star blocker Manase Tonga due to academic ineligibility. He has been removed from the University and must re-apply if he wishes to come back in January. No word on what will happen to his scholarship. Manase was suspended for the season opener last year after running a stop sign and giving the police officer a false name, as well as unpaid parking tickets. His older brother DL Matangi Tonga was booted from BYU for stealing laptops the year before. He was expected to rejoin the school and team for the coming season, but inexplicably transferred to a Junior College instead. Tonga ran for 305 yards last year. 1st and 3rd string backers Harvey Unga and Fui Vakapuna return, with promising blue-shirt freshman J.J. DiLuigi looking for field time as well.
http://www.byucougars.com/Filing.jsp?ID=10790 The men's basketball team lost star center Trent Plaisted to an early draft declaration after he offically hired an agent. Lee Cummard is also testing the early departure NBA draft waters but is currently expected to come back from next season. Though Plaisted is big, he sometimes couldn't tear his way through a wet paper towel under the rim, and many expect he will end up playing in Russia like ex-BYU star Rafael Araujo. Plaisted's schollie may not be used until next season, instead of potentially wasting it on a late unsigned kid. Chris Miles and Chris Collinsworth will fill in the gap.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=498&sid=3311878


These things do happen in sports. Cheer up! Watch a funny YouTube video (or two):

The Robot Song

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